Social development, human rights in the spotlight

15 October 2010, New York

The sixty-fith session of the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs Committee starts on 4 October in New York and focuses on advancement of women on 11-13 October

The General Assembly allocates to its Third Committee agenda items relating to a range of social, humanitarian affairs and human rights issues that affect peoples all over the world. An important part of the Committee’s work focuses on the examination of human rights questions, including reports of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council.

The Committee discusses social development, advancement of women, refugees, human rights, promotion and protection of the rights of children, indigenous issues and the elimination of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. The Committee also addresses questions related to the right to self- determination, promotion and protection of human rights, crime prevention and drug control.

Agenda item 28 on Advancement of Women will be taken up on 11-13 October, under the chairmanship of H. E. Mr. Michel Tommo Monthe, Permanent Representative of Cameroon to the United Nations. Three reports were prepared by the Division for the Advancement of Women (now part of UN Women) to facilitate discussions – “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women” (A/65/208), “Trafficking in women and girls” (A/65/209), and “Measures taken and progress achieved in follow-up to the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly” (A/65/204).

Preparing for the 2011 Annual Ministerial Review

DESA in collaboration with the Government of Thailand, UNESCO and ESCAP is organizing on 22-23 October an ECOSOC High-Level Regional Meeting on “Education and the achievement of the MDGs” for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand, in preparation for the 2011 Annual Ministerial Review on the theme: “Implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to education”.

The Meeting will be held in the context of the UNESCO-APEID conference (21-23 October) on “Education for Human Resource Development”.